65% of Vacant Commercial Properties in Offaly have been vacant for over three years

VACANT COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES VACANT FOR OVER THREE YEARS

Reporter:

Offaly Express Reporter

14 Feb 2018

Email:

news@offalyexpress.ie

0

65% of Vacant Commercial Properties in Offaly have been vacant for over three years

Offaly’s commercial vacancy rate stood at 15% in Q4 2017, representing an increase of 0.4pp compared to the same period in 2016, according to the latest GeoDirectory Geoview Commercial Vacancy Report. The research reveals that 65% of the vacant commercial address points in Offaly have been empty empty for over three years.

Overall, the national commercial vacancy rate in Ireland dropped slightly from 13.5% in Q4 2016 to 13.3% in Q4 2017.

Commercial activity remains concentrated on the East coast of Ireland, with the Greater Dublin Area accounting for 33.2% of the overall national stock. This is in stark contrast to Connacht and Ulster, with these provinces only accounting for 13.7% and 7.8% of the national stock respectively.

In Dublin, the commercial vacancy rate fell to 12.4%, a drop of 1.3pp compared to last year, with 16 of the 22 postal districts recording a vacancy rate below the national average of 13.3%. Dublin 2, experienced a drop of 6.4pp, the most significant reduction in the city. Dublin 8, at 16.7%, has the highest commercial vacancy rate of all the Dublin postal districts.

Outside of the capital, there is evidence that the economic recovery is beginning to spread, albeit slowly, beyond the Greater Dublin Area. Modest reductions were recorded in Leitrim (-0.8pp), Donegal (-0.5pp), Limerick (-0.3pp), Waterford (-0.3pp) and Mayo (-0.3pp).

Despite evidence of progress, the report highlights a continued imbalance between Dublin and the rest of the country, as commercial vacancy rates remain stubbornly high outside the capital. In total, GeoDirectory data shows that 15 counties registered vacancy rates higher than the national average in Q4 2017, unchanged from twelve months ago. Sligo, at 18.7%, was the county with the highest vacancy rate, followed by Galway (16.2%), Leitrim (15.6%) Mayo (15.3%) and Longford (15.1%). At the other end of the scale, Kerry (10.5%), Meath (10.7%) and Wexford (10.8%) recorded the lowest vacancy rates.

At a provincial level, Leinster, excluding Dublin, (12.6%) and Munster (13.0%) had a vacancy rate below the national average of 13.3%, while Ulster (14.0%) and Connacht (16.1%) were higher.

According to GeoDirectory data, 19,038 commercial units in Ireland have been vacant for three or more years. This represents 67.8% of the overall national commercial vacant stock of 28,091. Monaghan, at 78.5%, had the highest proportion of long term commercial vacancies in the State, followed by Laois (76.5%), Limerick (76.0%) and Clare (75.6%). At the other end of the spectrum, Galway (60.5%), Dublin (61.5%) and Westmeath (62.2%) recorded the lowest rates.

In the capital, Dublin 20, at 19.2%, was the Dublin postal district with the lowest long-term vacancy rate, while Dublin 13 recorded the highest rate at 78.2%.

GeoDirectory has conducted an analysis of the commercial vacancy rates in 102 locations, including 80 towns across the four provinces plus 22 Dublin postal districts.

In Offaly, Edenderry at 27.3% was the town with the highest commercial vacancy rate in Q4 2017. Birr was the town with the lowest commercial vacancy rate in Offaly at 14.4%.

Nationally, Ballybofey in Co. Donegal, at 28.8%, remains the town with the highest commercial vacancy rate in the country. Despite experiencing a drop of 3.7pp on the same period last year, Edenderry recorded the second highest vacancy rate (27.3%), followed by Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford (26.7%), Kilrush, Co. Clare (24.7%) and Ballina, Co. Mayo (23.8%). Of the 80 towns analysed, Greystones, Co. Wicklow (5.7%), Maynooth, Co. Kildare (7.4%) and Gorey, Co. Wexford (8.5%) posted the lowest commercial vacancy rates in the country.

The report also gives a more detailed analysis of the GeoDirectory database by examining the breakdown of address points by sector of economic activity, using NACE* codes. In total 164,862 commercial address points were allocated a NACE code. Of this total, 47.6% were classified under Services, making it the largest sector of commercial activity. This is followed by Distribution at 24.2% and Health at 9.1%.

Commenting on the findings of the latest GeoView Commerical Vacancy Rates Report, Dara Keogh, CEO of GeoDirectory said: “This report shows that while there are signs that the economic recovery is beginning to spread outside Dublin, there is still a stubbornly high commercial vacancy rate, particularly along the west coast of Ireland. Given that there is also a high proportion of long term vacant commercial buildings, there is significant scope to redevelop and put these properties to better use, particularly as discussion around the National Planning Framework continues.”

Annette Hughes, Director of EY-DKM Economic Consultants said, “On a national level, the commercial vacancy has dropped from 13.5% at this time last year, to 13.3%. Of the twelve counties to record a fall in vacancy rates, six were located in Leinster. Excluding Dublin, Leinster, had the lowest overall provincial vacancy rate at 12.6%. In contrast, Connacht, at 16.1% had the highest vacancy rate, which was considerably higher than the national average."

This website and its associated newspaper are full participating members of the Press Council of Ireland and supports the Office of the Press Ombudsman. This scheme in addition to defending the freedom of the press, offers readers a quick, fair and free method of dealing with complaints that they may have in relation to articles that appear on our pages. To contact the Office of the Press Ombudsman go to www.pressombudsman.ie or www.presscouncil.ie